Products, Projects, and Performances for the 21st Century Math Classroom, Differentiated Instruction for All (book)

Instruction Manual with dice ideas for your classroom included.

We can often be our own worst enemy when it comes to keeping students' attention. As an example, we use the Round Robin technique to ensure students participate equally. The problem with this approach is that it signals to students that when done participating (e.g., answered the question), it is time to relax, tune out, and ignore the rest of that lesson. What to do? Adding an element of chance and randomness (DICE) into your flow of lessons can greatly increase student participation and attention. You can have students roll to do certain tasks, assign specific tasks, or a combination thereof. The idea is that they will not know when they may be called on, and when their number comes up, the expectation is for them to participate. Keeping it random prevents students from getting lax in their attention and sends the very powerful signal that at any time, they are responsible for the information and learning within the classroom. This Polyhedral 7-Die Set with velveteen bag allows you to roll any number at any time.